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Seol Jihu
Seol Jihu, more commonly known as just Seol, is the main protagonist of The Second Coming of Gluttony. At the start of the story, he is a gambling addict, deep in debt and scorned by his family and ex-girlfriend however due an opportunity granted to him by a past life, he obtained a second chance for redemption. He possesses the unique innate ability, Nine Eyes, which also inadvertantly caused his gambling addiction after its disappearance as a result of abusing the ability and breaking his Magic Circuit. However after re-entering the Lost Paradise, it once again reawakened. Appearance Seol stands above the average height for a Korean male but otherwise possesses the typical outfit of light skin and black hair. He is generally described as being rather attractive. He also has a lean but muscular physique thanks to his diligent training. After exiting the Neutral Zone and returning to Earth, Yoo Seonhwa's three co-workers, who made it a habit to first judge each potential suitor of Seonhwa's based on their attractiveness with notoriously high standards, gave him 27 out of 30 points; 10 for body, 8 for face and 9 for fashion sense, though the latter was organized by Kim Hannah rather than him. When Future Vision activates, Seol's eyes are commonly described as glowing in an unsettlingly red hue. Personality "If you want to find out what a man is to the bottom, give him power. Any man can stand adversity—only a great man can stand prosperity." —Robert G. "Bob" Ingersoll, 1883 Initially Seol Jihu was someone who could be described as charismatic, dependable, sometimes mischevious but whole-heartedly a well-natured person. However, he had a crippling sense of gluttony (in the sense of overindulgence) and developed a fictitious self-importance through the knowledge of his unique ability, the Nine Eyes. As a consequence, he lost his ability after he began to abuse it for gambling, becoming drowned in the ecstasy of materialism, his former stalwartness began to crack and he spiraled out of control. He began to gamble unrestrainedly, believing that his ability would once again resurface, succumbing to substance abuse and sunk-cost fallacy. Over several years, his character began to drastically change, continually using pity and compassion to cheat more and more money to gamble with out of his loved ones, became disowened, and turned himself into one of the lowest law-abiding citizens possible. His self-importance and egoism evolved into an obsession before transforming into a self-entitled victim mentality. He grew to become a neurotic, crass individual, quick to speak feelings over morals, morals over reason and defend his wrongdoings, becoming easily angered when challenged. Ultimately, Seol transformed into someone unrecognizable from his former self. After receiving the emotions heavily laced with regret from his former life, Seol's conscience received a wake-up call. Rehabilitating in his experience in the Tutorial, Neutral Zone and the Lost Paradise, Seol began to regain a shadow of his former self, behaving in a far more moderate manner, prizing his self-worth which he had struggled to regain, above all else. However change does not come so quickly and while well on the way to improvement, Seol still retains a few slivers of naivety. If emotionally provoked, may act in a manner that is overly hasty or rash. Guided by and holding belief in the idea of the Golden Rule derrived from his Nine Eyes ability, Seol prioritizes of showing the equivalence of good will to the people who treat him well. This is indelible trace of his past and guilt that remains deeply in his heart, preventing himself from being able to accurately assess his self-worth and is quick to put down claims that he is a righteous, kind or even just a good person. In part, despite being decisive, Seol is also unable to think outside of the box and come to his own judgements, commonly needing external influence often in the form of advice, a smack from reality or a signal from the Nine Eyes. Seen this way, his ability, including Future Vision, is something more he relies on than he usesYMMV. One of Seol's more positive traits is his acquired tenacity, willpower and willingness to endure hard work for later benefits. If he has a goal or entrusted with one, he will attempt to strive towards accomplishing a positive outcome like no one else. To Seol, he has thoroughly learnt the lesson that he himself, is his own worst enemy. Seol is also unexpectedly naive and childish to a degree contrary to what one would expect of his age even with those several years younger than him, sometimes frustratingly so. Not only does he love to get pampered and spoiled, but he loves teasing his friends. This is seen in his constant teasing of Claire Agnes' unexpected choice of cute underwear and his repeated pranks on Chung Chohong though his attempts on the latter generally come off as insensitive more than funnyYMMV. This even despite their notorious reputation as the Six Crazies and constantly demonstrations of ire in response. Additionally, Seol has a gluttony for good-tasting food. History Former Life It is often that only through loss can someone truly understand what is value. After becoming agonisingly self-aware of his sins, Seol chose escapism, running away to the Lost Paradise desiring to find somewhere he could belong, and perhaps even more fleetingly, to find a way to atone for his sins. In his former life, he arrived in the Lost Paradise as a Red Mark contracted to Sinyoung, stuck in an indenture much like a slave contract. The details of the rest of his life are mostly unknown although it is known that he was a Warrior who had a formidable strength despite his average talent and was a even dubbed the Demon of the Battlefield. Yet despite his strength, he eventually fell in humanity's last stand in Paradise, with his body charred beyond recognition. Towards the final moments of his life, Gula, one of the Seven Gods arrives, to grant him a wish for fulfilling his promise of surviving the battlefield that left him half-dead. What the goddess did not expect was Seol's ardent wish to turn back time and start over. However he is fiercely rebuked by Gula and denied this wish, asks for his emotions to be sent back instead. Even then, Gula is still unable to grant his wish, as Seol’s achievements were still not enough, requiring a dozen more feats like the one he had just accomplished which had left him half dead. Left with no hope, he simply laughed sorrowfully and died. It was at this time a mortally wounded Teresa Hussey, who had been spectating this conversation, intervened. Grateful to the Earthling who had fought like a dog and died like one, bargained with Gula to grants Seol’s wish, presenting the Royal Oath. Even Gula was surprised by her choice and determination and acquiseced, stating that she could not wait until she met the two of them once again. The Beginning After receiving the evanescent, fervent and lamenting emotions of his former self who had spent the rest of his life in the Lost Paradise in the form of a dream, in a process that can only be described as a punch to the gut or the jump-start of defibrillator, Seol's conscience was quite literally shocked back into reality. With the strong emotions of his first life coming to him as a dream, the events start to differ from his life when he meets Kim Hannah. Instead of becoming a contractee of Sinyoung, he convinces her to give him the gold mark, which she received from Gula. Tutorial TBA Neutral Zone TBA Haramark Forest of Denial Arden Fortress Ramman Village Delpinion Duchy The Banquet The Sacrificium Powers & Abilities As Seol's Traits section in his Status Window suggests under Aptitude, his talent is incredibly average, normal in every way. Only his unusual tenacity, willpower and willingness to work harder than anyone else sets him apart from anyone else. Because of his understanding of his disappointingly ordinariness, he strives to put more effort in what he does than anyone else. Jang Maldong, his master, describes him as the type who needs to be taught ten out of ten things, unable to learn ten from one, but will at least attempt to understand more than one thing. In his former life, perhaps precisely due to this slave-like persistence born from his desire to atone for his sins did he manage to achieved a level of formidable prowess as a spear-wielding Warrior even as a Red Mark indentured to Sinyoung in a slave-like contract. In the end, he was capable enough to stand on the final battlefield and was ultimately known as the Demon of the Battlefield. For his starting point, Seol's base stats were beyond atrocious, a result of his unhealthly lifestyle and substance abuse. They rate far below the standard of an ordinary citizen of Earth, averaging at 'Low (Low)', apart from his Mana stat at 'Intermediate (High)' which he was able to develop early as a result of his Innate Ability, Nine Eyes, awakening in just his childhood. If for not breaking his Magic Circuit, consequently losing the ability to use Nine Eyes and letting his mana return to dormancy and regress, he could've surpassed the 'High (Low)' boundary by the time he set foot into Paradise. Compared to someone else, Yun Seora averages her stats in the lower range of 'Low (High)' while Kang Seok has his stats in the upper range of 'Low (High)'. Due to this abundance of mana that outrank even a majority of High Ranker Warriors, Seol is capable of using his mana to supplement his physical capabilities, granting him the potential to overpower other Earthlings two, or even three levels, higher than himself. In practice, this allowed him to stand his ground as a Level 1 against the Level 3 Olivier Salcido and a female Lioner, estimated to rival the strength of Level 4. Although he has a promising aptitude as a Magician due to his unusually high Mana stat, Seol requested to the spear as a Warrior. Unlike Sung Shihyun who stubbornly refused the Magician class, the Seven Gods took a vote to decide his class between Warrior and Magician after hearing his request. It ended up a four to three vote, in favour of Warrior. Seol's weapon of choice is of course, therefore the spear, following after the memory of himself in his previous lifetime demonstrating a high prowess with it, using just the three simple techniques of 'Thrust', 'Strike' and 'Cut' to slay a countless number of foes. However, the current Seol is unable achieve it to this degree, only able to mimick that level of spearmanship when allowed to adopt the right form. If interrupted, he completely plummets in skill, devolving into aimless flailing due to his lack of experience of adapting himself on the fly. Under Agnes' recommendation, he always tries to learn and develop his Class Abilities without learning them through the use of Ability Points, allowing him to forge a considerable foundation for his future growth but also spends an equally considerable long amount of time to do so. Despite his periodic self-awareness, Seol tends to demostrate more of a instinctive thought pattern particularly in combat, true to his short-tempered nature, often acting before thinking things through clearly at least unless the intervention of Jang Maldong's training. While meticulous in what details he knows and consistent in his practice, he generally fails to think outside his own box without someone to guide him and often attempts to bite off more than he can chew. Without the providence of Nine Eyes and Future Vision, despite the the many people who praise and acknowledge his ability to plan, decide and lead, it is extremely possible that he would not able to achieve many of his feats he is widely known for without them. Due to both Nine Eyes and Future Vision intervening with the pattern of his growth, while massively pushing him forward, Seol suffers from a deep, twisted disharmony in the fundamental elements of his mind, technique and body as a result. While Seol's talent appears to be exceedingly average, his mind is incomprehensibly chaotic; his technique seems to be refined, but he is unable to utilise it properly. Even his body—Seol has a powerful but also disproportionate amount of mana, making his body completely incapable of handling it. While mana may flow through the Circuits, it is the body that bears the brunt of the influence in the long term, such as stomach knots, regular dizziness, or a sudden losses of strength. Additionally, this also means that any increase to Seol's mana is essentially poison to him as long as his current state of incongruity persists due to it simply complicating the gap between his three fundamentals, turning himself into a time bomb. Quite literally, his own special abilities that he had thought set himself apart from others, had begun to strangle him in turn. Furthermore, despite having a perfect engine, Seol's usage of it is completely inept, often simply pooling all his mana together to face the opponent, using quantity to face quality, instead of exerting a finer level of control over it. Comparing him to a geometric shape, Jang Maldong states Seol would be a strange polygon with one or two vertices stretched out abnormally. He mentions to Claire Agnes that even if they abandoned moulding Seol's mind and body up to par with his technique—thus drawing a line on his growth potential—he would still reach the High Rank. If he had chosen the path of Magican, he and one of the Seven Gods said that with simply Seol's talents in his technique alone, he could become a Unique Ranker quite quickly. Despite having a limit if suppressed, Seol's limit is abnormally high and had the potential to become an extraordinary diamond in the rough, but only if polished well with a willpower that a human should be, in every sense of the word, incapable of. That is, unless they had repeatedly confronted multiple, real life-threatening experiences. Paraphernalia Equipment *'Ice Spear': A magic spear imbued with「'Freezing'」magic and a minor, mind purifying effect. It is described as being a smooth, two-meter long spear glowing in a faint blue hue with swirling ice-white cold air surrounding the tip, appearing as if it were carved out of a block of ice. It was rewarded to Seol by Teresa Hussey for his contributions in the defence of Arden Fortress.Chapter 65 *'Festina Earring': An earring crafted out of silver in the shape of the Star of David with an ivory-coloured jewel set in the center, possessing the「'Boost'」function. It was gifted to Seol by Flone as thanks for his display of kindness and respect.Chapter 59 When infused with mana, it enhances the speed of the wielder by 1.5 times, lasting for one minute. In addition, it has three charges which are able to be stacked, with the effects stacking multiplicatively, boosting Seol's speed up to 3.375 times and additively stacking the duration for up to three minutes. It automatically restores one charge every six hours and also has the property of being bound to the first person to wear it.Chapter 60 *'Blessing of the Circum': An bracelet artifact given to Seol by Flone in an attempt to console him.Chapter 90 When activated, it uses the wielder's mana as energy to project three overlapping circular barriers, one gold, red and blue in a triangular fashion, large enough to protect the face and upper chest of the user and lasting a total of ten seconds. It is capable of blocking physical matter and magic but also from spells carried out through divination and witchcraft, and can be used up to three times per day but cannot be stacked. *'Pocket Belt': A black belt enchanted with a permanent「'Pocket'」magic allowing him to store two bags' worth of items. It was stolen from the royal treasury by Teresa and sneakily given to Seol as part of his reward for his contribution to the rescue mission in Delpinion Duchy and saving her.Chapter 100 *'Armor Set': An armor set consisting of a brigandine with a golden lining that came with a gorget and cuirass, a small chainmail made from an unknown white metal, an ivory-colored leather jacket, reddish-brown leather pants and stringed brown boots. It was sent to him by Kim Hannah in Chapter 111.Chapter 111 *'Temperance Fragment of the Seven Virtues': A pendant engraved with a blue gemstone, emitting a blue glow that is scattered with a tainted black luster when housing Flone's spirit. Originally a keepsake given to Flone by her mother before she gave it Seol in another attempt to console him.Chapter 136 Inventory *'Divine Stigmata': A marble that shines in a brilliant blue hue. It was bought from the VIP store in the Neutral Zone with the one-time use VIP store coupon obtained from clearing the 'Impossible' mission, which would've costed 300,000 Survival Points otherwise. It brands a person with a trace of divinity, allowing one to receive a god’s blessing, which would lead to one unlocking special classes and skillsets after passing the tribulations set by the god they chose. *'Divine Elixirs': Miraculous medicines bought from the VIP store in the Neutral Zone for 30,000 Survival Points each. Each elixir is able to increase their respective physical stats by one level. **Strength (1) **Endurance (1) **Agility (1) **Stamina (2) **Luck (2) *'Proof of Castitas': One of the tokens given by the ancient Empire to a saintess as proof of one’s chastity. It is an extremely rare, powerful and valuable crucifix artifact, capable of storing up to six holy spells as long as one wishes with no cost, the equivalent power of a Level 6 Magician, and no limit to the number of times it can be used. It was given to him by Flone along with the Festina Earring. Seo Yuhui required it to advance to Level 8.Chapter 160 *'Proof of Devotion': A ring artifact that was given a saintess by the ancient Empire as a symbolic gesture and token of their devotion. It was one of the many remaining burial accessories Seol obtained from Flone's tomb after he freed her for good. Seo Yuhui required it to advance to Level 8. *'Other Artifacts': Seol possesses a plethora of other artifacts, mostly those retrieved from Flone's tomb. Former * Sharp and Sturdy Spear: Seol's first spear bought from the Neutral Zone's armory for 580 Survival Points after discounts. Although it had no special features, its length nearly matched Seol's own height which he preferred. It was replaced by the silver-coloured spear Seol bought at the end of the Neutral Zone but briefly saw a reappearance in Chapter 59 after the aforementioned weapon was destroyed before being quickly superseded by the Ice Spear. * Boiled Leather Armor: The best leather armor avaliable in the Neutral Zone's armory, featuring a even balance between defence and mobility and costed 5,700 Survivial Points after discounts. It was crafted with leather repeatedly dipped in boiling paraffin oil for several hours, resulting in a stiff and reassuringly solid protection against cutting attacks but naturally substandard against blunt attacks. Severely damaged in Chapter 85 and later retired. * Light Chainmail: A smaller, lightened version of a proper chain mail, costing 6,700 Survival Points after discounts. While a bit small to call actual armor, only covering the shoulders to the navel, it was specifically designed for Magicians and Priests to wear under their robes while still retaining acceptable defensive capabilities. Severely damaged in Chapter 85 and later retired. * Silver-coloured Spear: A spear that shone with an arresting silver light. It was the most expensive spear in the Neutral Zone's armory and was bought by Seol just before he left, costing 22,500 Survival Points and 15,750 points after the Gold Mark discount. Due to its sheer quality, it could be used up to Level 3 if maintained well but was prematurely destroyed in Chapter 55 when Seol overloaded it with his monstrous amount of mana to resist the female Lioner's ambush, and caused the weapon to shatter to pieces. As a result of this—and not expecting Seol's Mana to be so high—Ian Denzel mistakenedly appraised it as magic weapon. Trivia * Obtained a final score of 2150 in the Tutorial before modifiers and 26500 after applying them, the highest point tally in history. * Caused the lead skeleton monster in the Neutral Zone's 'Break through the siege and survive!' Hard mission, to kill itself by impaling its head on Seol's spear after being tormented as his training partner for several hours. Seol "affectionately" named it 'Skellie'. * Was constantly doubted to be as low-level as he was when he first left Scheherazade due to his unusually high combat prowess and intelligence. * Once joked with Alex that he was a Level 10 Spear God. * Managed to give both Claire Agnes and Chung Chohong new aliases in their Status Window after his constant teasing and pranking of the aforementioned two, and much to the ire of the former. * Often referred to as an Irregular, similar to Sung Shihyun, due to the monstrous speed of his growth. * He gets repeatedly reprimanded, and even slapped, by Gula for complaining about the crude naming sense of his Classes. * Likes his Budae-jjigae—a kimchi soup filled with mostly various meats, known as the Korean Army Stew—really, really spicy. Flone violently disagreed. References Category:Characters Category:Earth Category:Male Category:Korea Category:Gold Mark Category:Carpe Diem Category:Warrior Category:Human